Simon Bolivar's Latin America.

[TsarSamuil]

'Yankees go home': Venezuela expels 3 top US diplomats.

RT.com
October 01, 2013 10:46

Three US diplomats have been accused by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of plotting with the country’s far right to sabotage the national electric grid. In a scathing TV address, the socialist leader told the diplomats to leave within 48 hours.

Maduro, who canceled his visit to the UN General Assembly a week ago over an unspecified ‘US plot’, said he was expelling three American diplomats.

"We detected a group of US embassy officials dedicated to meeting the far-right and to financing and encouraging acts of sabotage against the electrical system and Venezuela's economy," the president said in a televised speech.

“Yankees go home!” he said in English, after announcing the decision to oust the diplomats.

“Get out of here! I don't care what actions the government of Barack Obama takes," Maduro added.

Among those expelled is Chargé d’Affairs, Kelly Keiderling, the senior US diplomat in Venezuela in the absence of an ambassador. Caracas and Washington have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, after the then incumbent President Hugo Chaves refused to accept a newly appointed American envoy. The other two were consular officer, David Moo, and Elizabeth Hoffman, who work in the embassy’s political section.

Foreign Minister Elias Jaua later said on state TV that the expelled Americans had met with opposition and labor leaders in the southeastern state of Bolivar, and with the opposition governor of Amazonas state, Liborio Guarulla. He said a protest note was sent to US Secretary of State John Kerry about the meeting.

The US Embassy rejected Venezuelan allegations of conspiracy, saying the trip was “normal diplomatic engagement” with opposition forces.

“We completely reject the Venezuelan government’s allegations of US government involvement in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the Venezuela government,” the Embassy said in a statement. "We likewise reject the specific claims against the three members of our embassy."

On Tuesday the US announced that three Venezuelan diplomats had 48 hours to leave the country as its response to Venezuela's expulsions.

A State Department spokesperson indicated that Venezuela’s head of business affairs, Calixto Ortega, along with Marisol Gutierrez de Almeida, attached to the country's Houston consulate, and Mónica Alejandra Sánchez Morales, currently assigned to the country’s Washington embassy, were all persona non grata.

Since his election as Venezuelan president in April, Maduro has spoken about a number of alleged plots against his government, including five attempts on his life. His previous swipe against the US government came earlier this month after his plane was briefly blocked from flying over Puerto Rico en route to China.

Six months ago Maduro expelled two US military attaches hours before announcing Chavez’ death from cancer. He later accused one of them of plotting a coup against Chavez.

The opposition says Maduro, a protégé of Chavez, is trying to divert attention from his inability to manage the country with wild accusations and anti-Americanism. For the past few years Venezuela has been suffering from power blackouts and shortages of essential foodstuffs and medicines.

The opposition says rampant corruption, negligence and poor governance is to blame, while the Venezuelan government says the country’s economy is suffering from acts of sabotage.

[TsarSamuil]

Cyber-shield: Brazil announces govt system to block NSA snooping.

RT.com
October 14, 2013 13:03

Brazil is creating an email system intended to shield the government from NSA spying. The country is set to vote on a cyber-security bill following revelations the US spy network had infiltrated the highest levels of Brazil’s administration.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tweeted the news, stressing the need for greater security “to prevent possible espionage.”

Rousseff said the Federal Data Processing Service (SERPRO) had been charged with creating the spy-proof system for the Brazilian government.

“This is the first step toward extending the privacy and inviolability of official posts,” Rousseff said.

Furthermore, Brazil’s Minister of Communication Paulo Bernardo said that the new system would most probably be put to the test at the end of the month. SERPRO is also developing an email security system that will be freely available for the Brazilian public.

The initiatives are part of a number of measures being introduced by the Brazilian government to sure up internet security. It comes after security leaks by former CIA employee Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA had been spying on the communications of the Brazilian government.

The classified cables obtained by American journalist Glen Greenwald and published by Brazilian newspaper O Globo revealed that the US spy agency had infiltrated the state-run oil giant Petrobras. The NSA had even managed to hack into President Rousseff’s email account.

Canada was also implicated in the scandal for spying on Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and then disseminating the data among the others in the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence network – the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia.

“They [Five Eyes] are sharing all the information, handing over documents to let other countries know exactly what they are doing,” Glen Greenwald told Brazilian current affairs program Fantastico.

President Dilma condemned the NSA’s spying as a breach of Brazilian sovereignty and made it clear that Brazil would not tolerate such activities. She called on both Canada and the US to cease the ‘cyberwar’ they had started against Brazil.

“Without respect for [ a nation’s ] sovereignty, there is no basis for proper relations among nations. Those who want a strategic partnership cannot possibly allow recurring and illegal action to go on as if they were an ordinary practice,” she said in a speech to the UN in September.

In retaliation, Dilma postponed an official visit to Washington and announced that Brazil will host an international conference on internet governance next year.

Meanwhile, the White House has released a statement saying President Barack Obama had ordered an investigation into the US intelligence program in Brazil.

"As the president previously stated, he has directed a broad review of US intelligence posture, but the process will take several months to complete,” said the statement.

[TsarSamuil]

NSA leaks: Years of spying on Mexico govt gave US investment benefits.

RT.com
October 20, 2013 13:35

US electronic surveillance in Mexico reportedly targeted top officials, including both current and previous presidents. Intelligence produced by the NSA helped Americans get an upper hand in diplomatic talks and find good investment opportunities.

The US National Security Agency was apparently very happy with its successes in America’s southern neighbor, according to classified documents leaked by Edwards Snowden and analyzed by the German magazine, Der Spiegel. It reports on new details of the spying on the Mexican government, which dates back at least several years.

The fact that Mexican President Peña Nieto is of interest to the NSA was revealed earlier by Brazilian TV Globo, which also had access to the documents provided by Snowden. Spiegel says his predecessor Felipe Calderon was a target too, and the Americans hacked into his public email back in May 2010.

The access to Calderon electronic exchanges gave the US spies "diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability," the magazine cites an NSA top secret internal report as saying. The operation to hack into presidential email account was dubbed “Flatliquid” by the American e-spooks.

The bitter irony of the situation is that Calderon during his term in office worked more closely with Washington than any other Mexican president before him. In 2007 he even authorized the creation of a secret facility for electronic surveillance, according to a July publication in the Mexican newspaper, Excelsior.

The surveillance on President Nieto started when he was campaigning for office in the early summer of 2012, the report goes on. The NSA targeted his phone and the phones of nine of his close associates to build a map of their regular contacts. From then it closely monitored those individuals’ phones as well, intercepting 85,489 text messages, including those sent by Nieto.

After the Globo TV report, which mentioned spying on Mexico only in passing, Nieto stated that US President Barack Obama had promised him to investigate the accusations and to punish those responsible of any misconduct. The reaction was far milder than that from Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, another target of NSA’s intensive interest, who has since canceled a planned trip to the US and delivered a withering speech at the UN General Assembly, which condemned American electronic surveillance.

Another NSA operation in Mexico dubbed “Whitetamale” allowed the agency to gain access to emails of high-ranking officials in country’s Public Security Secretariat, a law enforcement body that combats drug cartels and human trafficking rings. The hacking, which happened in August 2009, gave the US information about Mexican crime fighting, but also provided access to "diplomatic talking-points," an internal NSA document says.

In a single year, this operation produced 260 classified reports that facilitated talks on political issues and helped the Americans plan international investments.

"These TAO [Tailored Access Operations – an NSA division that handles missions like hacking presidential emails] accesses into several Mexican government agencies are just the beginning - we intend to go much further against this important target," the document reads. It praises the operation as a "tremendous success" and states that the divisions responsible for this surveillance are "poised for future successes."

Economic espionage is a motive for NSA spying, which the agency vocally denied, but which appears in the previous leaks. The agency had spied on the Brazilian oil giant, Petrobras, according to earlier revelations. This combined with reports that the NSA hacked into the email of Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, triggered a serious deterioration of relations between the two countries.

While the NSA declined comment to the German magazine, the Mexican Foreign Ministry replied with an email, which condemned any form of espionage on Mexican citizens. The NSA presumably could read that email at the same time as the journalists, Der Spiegel joked.

[TsarSamuil]

Ecuador’s Correa in Moscow amid reheated NSA debate.

RT.com
October 29, 2013 11:23

Ecuador's president, one of the most vocal critics of Washington’s spying methods, has met for talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. His visit follows new NSA revelations which have brought US surveillance and Edward Snowden into the spotlight yet again.

After the Tuesday meeting, Rafael Correa – supporter of former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden – said that his country follows the principles of international law and “does not trade in human rights.”

Correa reiterated that Ecuador will consider granting political asylum to whistleblower Snowden should he make such a request.

“If Snowden comes to the territory of Ecuador, for example, and goes to the diplomatic mission, we will accept his request and consider all the legal aspects to make a decision,” Correa said.

"We act primarily in compliance with our principle, not in compliance with conveniences," he added.

Though Ecuador’s economy largely depends on exports to the US, Rafael Correa has not shied away from being openly critical of Washington’s tactics. His leftist government declared it would not change its mind about offering Snowden asylum, even if it was threatened with sanctions.

“At first they said it was necessary for fighting against terrorism. I don’t know if Angela Merkel is a terrorist. I think it is clear they used surveillance programs for economic reasons, for helping their transnational companies,” he told RT Spanish. He was referring to the latest leaks - according to which the NSA had an ear to the phones of 35 world leaders, including the German chancellor.

Ecuador’s president also said the NSA scandal revealed double standards in global politics, as Correa believes that any other country would have been put on international trial for such large-scale spying.

“But in this case nothing is going to happen, because international justice, as in the Chevron case, still does not work. And until now, justice works only for the convenience of the stronger. In this case, the stronger is the USA,” Correa said.

In June 2012, Ecuador granted asylum to Julian Assange - yet another whistleblower wanted in the US. Correa believes European countries could actually help end his confinement at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

“It’s now totally up to Britain, Sweden and Europe to resolve the situation. Britain is quite capable of granting a safe passage from the country to Assange, just the way it should do,” he said.

Latin American leaders have from the very start refrained from concealing their irritation over US surveillance practices and were much more vocal in their condemnation than their European counterparts.

The July visit of Bolivian President Evo Morales to Russia resulted in a major international scandal when his plane was denied airspace and forced to stay for 12 hours in Vienna. Correa then reacted by urging other South American leaders to “take action.” Through his Twitter account, the president said the situation was a test for all Latin American states to see if they had “graduated from the colonies.”

Ecuador, Russia discuss future plans

Correa and Russia’s President Putin have discussed a range of issues including mutual trade, which reached a record-breaking $1.3 billion in 2012.

The two countries have several ongoing energy sector projects, including Ecuador’s proposal to Russian energy giant Gazprom to create an alliance with Ecuador’s Petroamazonas. The Latin American country wants to develop its own natural gas reserves instead of buying liquid gas from abroad, as it is doing now.

“Of course we are interested in the participation of Gazprom, as it is the largest gas company in the world,” said Correa on Tuesday.

Currently, Russian companies are already taking part in another energy project - the construction of the Toachi-Pilaton hydroelectric plant, at a cost of over $1 billion.

Correa has also stated that Ecuador is interested in buying Russian military transport in the form of Mil Mi helicopters and trucks.

He also expressed hope that Ecuador’s parliament will ratify the agreement with Russia in the nuclear sphere.

“In Ecuador this document has caused a lot of noise, but it still has not been ratified. This agreement is primarily aimed at the exchange of knowledge and technology. This does not mean that it is aimed at the construction of nuclear power plants," Correa said.

Correa, who on Monday visited St. Petersburg, called on the city’s scientists to visit Ecuador and participate in the creation of a science city, specializing in bio- and nanotechnologies, information systems, and the textile industry. The Ecuadorian President is also expected to visit Russia’s IT hub in Skolkovo.

[TsarSamuil]

Vid,
rt.com/op-edge/ecuador-president-political-crises-972/

Current world order not simply unfair, it’s immoral – Correa to RT.

RT.com
October 30, 2013 14:30

The US debt is merely a fiction. The real problem lies in those who run the economy, because they protect the interests of the financial capitalists, Ecuadorian economist and President Rafael Correa told RT Spanish.

Correa believes that what he calls ‘supremacy of capital’ is what makes the world immoral. The recent economic crises in the US and Europe did not undermine the foundations of their economies, as they retain the production capabilities, science and technology. Their problem is political.

“It’s all about scrambling for power,” Correa told RT. “This is a political rather than economic crisis; this is a problem of social accord,” he said about the US public debt crisis.

RT: Mr. President, thank you for making time for us. Last time you visited Russia in 2009, and back then there was a lot of talk about economic and trade cooperation between our countries. Have Russia and Ecuador developed closer ties since that time?

Rafael Correa: Of course, very much so. First of all, I would like to say thank you to you and your channel for this meeting. I would like to greet the people of Russia, who gave us a warm welcome as always, and also say hello to Latin America and the whole world.

Our visit to Russia in 2009 was very productive. We have strengthened our friendship and cooperation in different areas – trade, economy, technology exchange, etc. Back then, Dmitry Medvedev was the president of Russia, and Vladimir Putin was prime minister. I was in my first term as president then, and since then I have been re-elected. In February, the people of Ecuador entrusted me with this job again and re-elected me as president. Vladimir Putin, too, was re-elected as leader of Russia, and so we thought it would be appropriate to pay another official visit to Russia in order to continue strengthening ties between our countries.

RT: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think back in 2009 banana exports were the key element of cooperation between the two countries. Today, you talk about innovation and cutting-edge technology. Are you going to sign any new agreements?

RC: Actually, back then we discussed many different issues, not just banana exports, even though bananas are our number one export to Russia. Ecuador is a developing country; we are one of the three fastest-growing economies in Latin America, and we offer excellent opportunities for investment. Russia has big government-owned and private corporations, financial resources, science and technology. We have done a lot of work in this area, and Russia currently finances the Toachi Pilaton project, a big power plant in Ecuador. We will also sign other agreements on financing irrigation and power generation projects. Gazprom may explore gas deposits in Guayaquil Bay and help us mine natural resources in the southeastern parts of our country.

We have many areas where we can cooperate with Russia. During the current visit, we emphasize science and technology. We are building a research center in Ecuador, and we would like it to work jointly with the new innovation center in Russia. We plan to expand our exchange programs for scientists and researchers, have more grants for Ecuadoreans to study in Russia. Those grants will be financed by both the Ecuadorean and Russian governments. We want our young people to attend Russia’s excellent schools. So our partnership is much more than just trade and banana exports. Our emphasis in the current visit is different.

RT: What do expect from your meeting with the Russian president, given the fact that Russia and Ecuador share a common position on international law and the role the UN should play?

RC: Vladimir Putin is certainly a great leader. I don’t consider myself as a great leader, but I’m doing my best. I expect that we will quickly clarify all the remaining questions regarding the agreements that will intensify cooperation between our countries, and that we will discuss some international issues, especially those where we share the same approach, like the issue of Syria. Both Russia and Ecuador adamantly opposed the idea of intervention. Vladimir Putin came up with a solution on Syria, and we think that the dismantling of chemical weapons is the right way to go.

RT: Would you say that this was a victory for Russian diplomats?

RC: Of course it was a victory! This was a very important victory for Syria and the whole world. Russia prevented an invasion, and I don’t even know how many presidents are now involved in the process of disarming Syria – I’m referring to chemical weapons, of course.

‘US debt is fiction’

RT: You are first of all an economist…

RC: Yes, but I’m a good man.

RT: Right. What do you think about the current situation in the US? Recent events could send shockwaves throughout the world, endangering other countries’ economies. Was the world ready for such a global impact?

RC: This had an impact primarily on the US economy. This was not a crisis; it was the lack of political agreement. Such things are difficult to understand. The US crisis, especially the public debt, has reached enormous proportions. America’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 105 percent. Ecuador’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 23 percent. That’s less than one-fifth of what the US has. Sorry, less than a quarter. See, I’m an economist - I’m not good with numbers.

Orthodox economists don’t understand the idea of the US currency. Actually, this is a social contract. What do you need the dollar for? If this contract is no longer valid, if somebody says tomorrow: “I don’t accept dollars anymore,” this currency will only be good for starting fire in your fireplace. In other words, the US public debt is merely a question of settling the issue with the Fed, right? It’s a social agreement, and if it doesn’t work, you can reconsider it and start all over again. But because this pre-agreed contract is not flexible, because it doesn’t work, because of this huge debt, it was impossible to reach a political agreement. This is why they ran into this trouble, which cost billions of dollars for the US economy and US citizens. I am talking about public services and welfare.

This is a political rather than economic crisis; this is a problem of social accord. And this debt is fiction. They sacrifice their people for the sake of their Central Bank, which they look up to when making political decisions and defining their economic policies. But the US technological and industrial capabilities, their intellectual resources, the foundation of their real economy – all this is still intact. The currency is a social contract, and in order to avoid such problems, this issue has to be approached differently. But this is where artificial interests and other countries’ economic policies come into play.

It’s hard for me to explain this but I stress, the foundation of the US economy is intact, as well as its industrial capacity, science, technology and smart minds.

RT: Moving on to the crisis in Europe. You’ve warned against acting on the instructions of the IMF several times. What’s your plan and do you see any positive changes in Europe?

RC: The same as with the US. At its core the problem is, basically, political. It’s all about scrambling for power and pursuing your narrow interests. Latin America has a long record of crises. It’s not because we are unique, but because we’ve survived through many economic disasters and most often we were not prepared to face them. We were told that recovery is a science and we need counseling, but instead they imposed an ideology that protected the interests of the financial capitalists. The same in Europe. The crisis did not undermine the foundations of their economies – they still retain the production capabilities, science, technologies and intellectual prowess.

So what’s missing? The answer is public coordination. And what is the key instrument of coordination? It’s currency. Why is the European Central Bank so adamant that the currency should be strong? Because their priority is to protect the interests of the financial capitalists. Their ultimate goal is not to save the economies of Greece or Cyprus, they want to make sure that German and French private banks get their money. However, they would always justify their actions by the highly moral rhetoric like ‘responsibility’, ‘subordination’, ‘discipline’. But, originally - and here’s the insight for students of economics - it was a political science and was called ‘political economy’. With time, however, economists sought to put on more weight and create an illusion of an apolitical, positivist approach, and that was how the economists of Sweden’s Central Bank came up with a Nobel prize in economics. It was an attempt to turn economics into an exact science. But this is wrong. It’s a mistake, to make it worse.

Economics is still a political science. Any economic steps that a government takes must be put into a perspective of political balance of forces. What’s the goal of the economy? It’s to satisfy human needs. Take Spain, for example. The problem is not down to a lack of homes there. With all my respect for Spain and its government, the economic policy they pursued was really awful. Families that need homes are left without shelter while banks are well-off as they’ve become owners of so much property that they actually don’t need. Why is there no coordination?

The real problem lies in those who run the economy, who run the society, because they protect the interests of the financial capitalists. It’s the capital, financial capital in particular, that runs the economy, not the ordinary European citizens. It all depends on the capital. That’s the main problem. Multi-million-dollar financial aid won’t save it. The real problem is that the capital owns the society, it owns the people. Until this problem is tackled, the recovery will be a challenging task that will require a lot of effort. But what’s more important is that they will continue this crisis and will not take any measures to overcome it in the near future.

‘It’s a time of hope in Latin America’

RТ: You mentioned Spain. Until recently, it was a destination where many Ecuadorians fled in search of a job. But the situation has changed in the past years. We’ve been to Ecuador many times and every time we saw Spaniards who’d come to Ecuador and live there. Do you feel this change happening? Will Latin America become the Promised Land for Europeans?

RC: Let me get back to the previous issue and finish with it first. The main way to revive growth and employment in Europe is to push for an active currency policy. This could trigger off an inflation hike. Who will benefit from inflation? Those who own a lot of liquidity, i.e. the financial sector. Again, everything depends on the financial sector. The euro crisis is not a real crisis that shatters the foundations of the economy. It’s a crisis of coordination. The main instrument of public coordination is currency, which they are reluctant to use and seek to protect the interests of the financial sector first. That’s the main reason. You could try to disguise this with nice words, talk about science and technical precision, but in reality they simply defend the interests of the financial capitalists and private European banks. They are not protecting the interests of ordinary people.

As to your next question, yes, it’s a time of hope in Latin America. Of course, we shouldn’t be overplaying it. It’s true that Latin America is moving forward, poverty and inequality are on decline in some countries like Ecuador, for example. But it’s still a long way before we can reach European living standards. Indeed, we are seeing a high pace of economic growth, but you have to bear in mind that initially we started out with a very low level.

Europe is stagnating, but they’ve already achieved quite a high level. Growth is all about a gain in production capabilities, the ability to produce goods and services. In Europe, the production capability is now flat, but it boasts huge output volumes anyway, which helps them to meet the needs of their people. Latin America has just started building a foundation for this, and if we keep on doing it, we will be able to significantly move forward. Today, Latin America is a region with vast opportunities. One of the biggest tragedies for me was the massive migration that our country went through earlier. About 2 million people left Ecuador in just a couple of years. They had to leave their home country in appalling conditions, on overloaded boats which often sank, killing hundreds of people. Their goal was to cross the US border, to get to Spain. The massive outflow took place after the 1999 banking crisis caused by neoliberalism and deregulation of the financial markets. The situation was very similar to what is happening in Europe today.

It was very painful for me as an economist to watch our economy and the social sector going underwater. And so I feel very blessed with the opportunity to see a reverse trend taking place. The migrants are returning home. Many Europeans, including from Spain and Italy come to Ecuador in search of a better life. So of course, Latin America is a territory of vast opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that we’ve tackled all of our issues. It’s just the first steps, and we need to move forward along this road.

RT: Probably the fact that you returned its nationhood to Ecuador is your key achievement as president of the country.

RC: Yes, and I already mentioned that. We have achieved a lot, but we still have much ahead of us. However, we succeeded in the key thing – we put an end to hopelessness. Back in 2007, the country was completely dispirited and torn. It was a country that had lost its dignity. The idea that we were absolutely useless was instilled into our minds. The country didn't even have a national currency after the crisis of 1999, because our precious ‘jet-set’ had decided we were genetically less developed and so couldn't have a national currency. It never occurred to them that it was all about who controlled the country’s politics, economy and the mass media. It was an issue of political character.

So the country was dispirited. Let me repeat, we are nowhere near saying all our problems have been solved, but there is hope for Ecuador at this point. The country’s dignity and self-confidence is back. There is nothing we wouldn't be able to achieve and that is the major breakthrough of the revolution.

‘Every nation is exceptional’

RT: You mentioned that previously the people of Ecuador were used to thinking of themselves as of second-rate people. On the other hand, there are Americans who, as you said, think of themselves as a superior nation. I’m referring now to Barack Obama’s speech where he talked about the USA being exceptional. In one of your interviews to RT you said that this is a very dangerous thing to say. Why do you believe it to be very dangerous? Don’t you think that the Americans have long since got used to thinking of themselves as superior to all other nations?

RC: Let me expand on what I said. One of the main tools that were used to make the people of Ecuador get used to the idea that things like good roads, quality education and so on are not for them but for some other people, people of the ‘first world’. Well, one such tool was mass media that through these kinds of messages - whether consciously or unconsciously - hindered our development. The USA has always believed that they are above the right and wrong and can force any political agenda on to others, and so on and so forth. All this is in the past now.

Also, speaking of the USA… I lived there for some time, and I would agree that the American people are indeed exceptional people, just as much as the Russian people are. Just think of the enormous sacrifice the Russian people made in order to secure the victory in the World War II. It was the USSR that made that victory happen. Such cities as Moscow and St. Petersburg, which I visited yesterday, were awarded the titles of hero cities for their contribution to the victory. Just think of it - 20 million [Soviet] people died in that war! The US lost 500,000, while the Soviet Union lost 40 times that.

I believe every nation is in a way exceptional. The problem is that it is extremely dangerous to think of oneself as exceptional and entitled to the right to decide what is good and what is bad. And I’m afraid that this is exactly what happens often with the USA and is reflected in their foreign policy. They believe to have the right to decide what is right and what is wrong, whereas we all are parts of the multipolar democratic world that has its rules and norms that are to be followed – and not the orders of one government that believes in being exceptional and is acting like the world’s policeman, and while doing that gets caught in controversies such as the mass espionage scandal that surfaced up lately, or the incident with the chemical weapons that were discovered in Panama.

‘Capital trying to lay burden on shoulders of citizens’

RT: Speaking of espionage, you said that you hope that this unfair world order will soon come to an end. What do think the world will be like in about 20 years from now? Do you believe something will change?

RC: Well, I specialize in economics, not in predictions. We are realistic idealists. The thing is that the world order is more than simply unfair, it is immoral. I am going to speak about this tomorrow at the Peoples' Friendship University. I am going to say that in this world, everything depends on the capital, and I call it the ‘supremacy of capital’. I am going to speak about how alternative political processes such as the one we have in Ecuador, the process striving for social justice, are counteracted not only on the national level, but also on the international level; they face counteraction of the international mass media, international capital, and the world powers that want to subdue over nations and don’t want us to be free.

But we are also aware of the fact that one of the most glaring mistakes made by the left-wing forces in our country is that they think that our countries can change this world order on our own, that we can change the global distribution of labor by shutting down oil production. The only thing we can do through that is starve ourselves to death, but we won’t change a thing on the international level. This is a huge mistake. Whether it comes from being naïve, or irresponsible, or downright crazy, I do not know.

In other words, Ecuador is not going to change this unfair world order. I believe that the citizens of the developed countries will do it as soon as they realize that they are also victims of the supremacy of capital, even though they didn’t see it before because the progress brought some benefits not only to the capital itself, but also to the people. But once it comes down to a crisis, these resources become off-limits, and political tension develops.

For example, now, people in Europe have realized where the crisis came from. The capital is trying to lay the whole burden on the shoulders of the ordinary citizens and get away with it. This is why I’m hoping that this unfair world order where capital is a higher value than the interests of the people will change. The same is going on inside the leading world powers where interests of the capital prevail, too. Ecuador is not trying to change the situation as it has come to be; yet we will try and protect our people from this unfair world order. This is what the integration of the Latin American nations is meant to help accomplish. United, we will become stronger and gain more weight on the international arena.

I insist that even if we can’t change the current world order – as this is something too challenging for Latin America to tackle, we do not have enough influence – we nonetheless have a duty to protect our nations from this unfair and immoral world order driven by the interests of the capital alone.

RT: Ecuador is taking an active part in the integration mechanisms in Latin America, such as the Union of South American Nations, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. After the incident with Evo Morales’s plane I assume the solidarity between the countries has grown stronger. What would you say about that?

RC: Let’s talk about the Union of South American Nations then. We often talk about things that our viewing audience might not be very well familiar with. So the question is – how can we protect ourselves from the unfair world order, the capitalist empire, and how can we do that through integration? Left-wing movements have been opposing imperialism for decades. But what is the imperialism of the 21st century exactly? It is loads of weapons, bombs, and guns and so on? No! Imperialism today is loads of dollars and all sorts of structures working towards subduing our countries. Among these structures are the arbitration courts. Through them, any transnational corporation can challenge any sovereign state, and these courts always serve the capital. How can we protect our nations from such abuse?

Let us take the Chevron case. We could protect the interests of our citizens by establishing our own court of arbitration within the UNASUR framework, thus employing an integration vehicle for purposes of justice. No one questions the necessity of ensuring legal protection of investment. But it is not mutual investment that the existing international agreements secure in reality, but the ability of capital to abuse entire nations and their populace. This is an actual example of the rule of capital, which all those international institutions are meant to uphold. Thanks to the existing international courts of arbitration, any multinational company can sue a sovereign state, bypassing a national court. And look who the judges are – they are on the payroll of those same corporations.

As for the forced landing of Evo Morales’ plane, that was a truly despicable incident. But at the end of the day, I think it has only served to strengthen our solidarity. In fact, the subsequent UNASUR meeting was convened spontaneously. A few countries refused to take part, even though the meeting had been prompted by a blatant international offense, a gross violation of international law and of air safety, which had jeopardized the life of an elected head of state. Under UNASUR procedures, decision making must be based on consensus, including matters of summoning an extraordinary summit. This became a roadblock for us when two UNASUR member states opted out of an extraordinary meeting. So we shouldn’t delude ourselves: although we did see prompt reaction to the incident from quite a few Latin American leaders, we still didn’t manage a unanimous response that was needed.

This points to something even more fundamental and alarming, namely a conservative counteroffensive in Latin America. The region’s conservatives and rightwing parties had grown so lax by the turn of the century that several countries voted progressive governments into office, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and even Chile. But the international powers-that-be are anything but stupid, and once they realized that Latin America was going through a major transition, they promptly mustered a response. It is known as the Pacific Alliance, which is good old oppression by a new name, a move to choke free trade in Latin America. We seek new markets and new customers, and we do not persecute our citizens for political reasons, and yet we are facing a conservative backlash.

RT: Mr. President, you have mentioned the Chevron-Texaco case. That company inflicted devastating environmental damage on your country by dumping toxic waste into the Amazon rainforest. I know that you recently visited Lego Agrio in order to assess the environmental situation and bring it to public attention. But now there is a new challenge: Chevron has filed a lawsuit in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, demanding that Ecuador, and not Chevron, should indemnify the locals in the polluted areas. Meanwhile, it is really Chevron who owes Ecuador a total of $19 billion in damages. Could this be a new ploy aimed at bankrupting your country?

RC: This case is yet another manifestation of the imperial rule of capital. Its pet courts produce rulings that absolve multinational companies of any responsibility for their misconduct. The damage caused by Texaco in Ecuador is evident. All you need to do to see for yourself is come to the Lego Agrio area and dip your hand in the first puddle you come upon. Your hand will emerge greasy – and that’s 20 years after Texaco closed shop in our country.

Chevron Corporation acquired Texaco in 2000, and now they are using their billions of dollars and their lapdog media to blame the pollution on EP Petroecuador, a state-owned Ecuadorean oil company. You can go and ask the locals in the area whether it was Texaco or Petroecuador who poisoned their land. Or do you think our government could have persuaded thousands of indigenous peasants to tell one and the same lie?

Texaco’s fault is evident and impossible to cover up, but Chevron executives apparently have no conscience. In fact, the rainforest communities initially wanted their lawsuit against the company to be decided by a New York court, so Chevron spent 10 years arguing that an Ecuadorean court had enough competence to hear this case. They were hoping to buy the court in Ecuador, but they couldn’t, and the Ecuadorean court found them guilty. So Chevron turned around and started arguing exactly the opposite.

But that is not all of it. Chevron lost a class action lawsuit and appealed it in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. They insist that Ecuador must itself finance the indemnities awarded to the plaintiffs, citing an agreement signed in 1998 by Texaco and Ecuador’s former government. In that agreement, the corrupt officials who ran Ecuador at the time conceded that Texaco’s clean-up operations had been sufficient, and absolved the company of any further responsibility. However, the Ecuadorean Treasury debunked Texaco’s clean-up as a sham in 2000, way before I became president. But the damage was already done: since Ecuador’s corrupt previous government has renounced any further claims by way of an international treaty, we as a state can no longer sue the company.

However, that doesn’t bar individual plaintiffs from filing their lawsuits, nor can the Ecuadorean government ban its citizens from suing a company. So a number of Amazon indigenous communities sued Texaco, and were awarded damages by an Ecuadorean court. And now Chevron is appealing to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, arguing that Ecuador should pay the bills.

There is more to it. Chevron’s suit in the PCA relies on a Bilateral Investment Treaty between Ecuador and the US, which entered into force in 1997. But Texaco closed its operations in Ecuador back in 1992. That means that Chevron is trying to invoke an agreement in respect of a case that dates back longer then the treaty itself. Like I said, those people have no scruples. If a public body were to use similar tricks, it would have been penalized for improper conduct.

And there is still more to it. The agreement they cite concerns the relations between a government and a company, whereas the court decision that awarded damage to the rainforest communities was based on a class action lawsuit filed by individuals. It lies outside the scope of that agreement. Despite this fact, The Hague arbitration panel deemed itself competent to review the decision of the Ecuadorean court. And the first thing they did was urge our government to revoke the court decision, as if they didn’t even consider Ecuador a democratic state governed by the rule of law, where the judiciary is independent of the government.

Besides, by proclaiming itself competent to review the decision of the court in Lago Agrio, The Hague panel effectively made itself eligible to collect a $300,000 litigation fee paid by a defendant government. So there is a conflict of interest, unfair litigation, and outright corruption. They have passed a judgment in bad faith so as to grant Chevron impunity and make Ecuador pay for the damage that had been done to us. The whole world should know about this. This is an evident example of how multinational corporations deliberately seek to put themselves above the law and escape responsibility, using their money and influence, their lobby groups and their lapdog judiciary.

RT: An RT crew has also visited Lago Agrio and produced a documentary on the Chevron controversy, titled A Tainted Land. It is accessible at the RT Spanish website.

RC: Such things are impossible to hide. You can go and talk to the local residents of the rainforests. You can go to any place where Chevron - Texaco at that time - was working and you will see the rubbish they left behind. Was Petroecuador working there? No, never. You cannot hide this. But still, despite the conclusive evidence, those people think they can use their millions of dollars, their power, their influence in the mass media, their lobby in Congress to humiliate a country which may be small, but is a sovereign country and which has its dignity. They can’t get away with that. The world needs to know about it.

‘Latin American mass media represent right forces’

RT: Mr. President, let’s talk about Yasuni. Ecuador is about to start oil drilling there. How did you manage to get the support of the Amazonian communities and of the members of parliament? Despite all the disputes in the media, this project enjoys wide support among people.

RC: You know, Ecuadorean and Latin American media in general are the worst and most corrupt media in the world. Even Vargas Llosa, who published a column in Lima’s El Comercio, complained that the yellow press was manipulating facts and interfering into politics. But nobody is doing anything about it, because everyone fears the power of the mass media. Russia and the whole world need to realize that the Latin American mass media represent the right forces who are trying to destabilize the Latin American governments.

Throughout history the media often supported dictatorships. For example, Chile’s El Mercurio supported a coup against President Salvador Allende. Progressive governments have to deal with this kind of media day after day. Some try to convince us that to protect the media is to protect the freedom of speech. But actually they are private illegitimate companies which are each day opposing progressive governments. They will be held accountable for this. The community has the right and obligation to control the media, which are not manufacturing neckties or CDs, but are ensuring the most important right, the right to information. The media are forming the public opinion, so they are not allowed to manipulate the facts in such an impudent way.

This is all about the Latin American media. The media interfere in everything, including Yasuni. If tomorrow we decide to meet with young people and discuss the work of the universities, the media are going to meddle with that too. This capitalist press assumes the role of the political parties and opposes the government. So the commercial organizations are ensuring the right to information. This is a contradiction: commercial entities and rights.

The decision regarding Yasuni was the hardest one. It took us six years to come to this decision. This was the ‘Ruptura’ movement initiative. We expected international organizations to make sure that Ecuador’s National park with immense biodiversity is preserved undamaged. I’m not talking about the park itself, but about its oil reserves – an estimated 800 million barrels of crude oil. Drilling would cause 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. To avoid this, we were ready to leave the oil there, but this would mean that Ecuador would lose billions. We asked the international community to pick up at least half of the burden. But their share was insignificant.

They took practically no responsibility. Because the amount of money we received was not enough, I decided that I couldn’t kowtow to companies participating in the global contamination without thinking about the people of Ecuador. We were always saying that we’re going to do the drilling according to the ecological and social requirements. After this decision was announced, most people supported us. We got the support of our party and of the National Assembly.

So we are about to start the drilling. But you cannot forget that the press stood up to protect the environment. They didn’t care about the rainforests before that. Some political factions which lost the elections used this forced difficult decision to lobby their interests in order to restore their political reputation. We are used to this. We know that the people of Ecuador support us. We realize that we’ve made this difficult decision, but it was necessary.

RT: Mr. President, one important issue left to discuss is the one you mentioned today already, it is the US-led espionage that many Latin American nations have been found to be victims of, such as Brazil and Mexico, and recently, a similar story emerged around Angela Merkel. Nonetheless, it appears that the USA has not had any serious consequences to deal with over all this, and their allies, including Germany, keep supporting them. Is this what you meant when you spoke about the imperialism of the dollar?

RC: It is one of the aspects of the imperialism. The USA itself is controlled by the transnational corporations. The level and scope of injustice that is going on today is such that it is simply impossible to understand how the mankind is letting it all happen. I believe that the main goal of the 21st century is to find a way to establish people’s control over the capital.

I read a report recently saying that the annual income of one of America’s richest people has exceeded $2 billion. That means his daily income is about $2 million. That means that over the 30 minutes we have been having this interview, he made half a million. It is unbelievable. And so all these (developed) countries are dependent on the capital.

I’d like to point out that earlier, while a lot was being invested into the technical research and development, everyone was OK with it. But once the crisis began the money resources dwindled, and the political situation has grown tense to the extreme. This showed the US that it, too, is a slave to capital. As for the espionage issue, I’d like to say the following. First, the US said that they needed it to fight terrorism. I don’t know if one can connect Angela Merkel with terrorism. But I believe it is clear now…

RT: That’s a good point.

RC: …It is clear now that this is done in the financial interests of the transnational corporations. But if we imagine for a second that it wasn’t the US but Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Russia, Ecuador, or Argentina involved in espionage they’d have long since been called to the International Court of Justice in The Hague as perpetrators and dictators. Unfortunately, this is not going to happen in case of the USA, since justice is not working efficiently at the international level. The litigation around Chevron is a proof of it. There is a saying that is over 2000 years old which says “Justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger.” And the USA is exactly the stronger one here.

RТ: It’s been a year since Julian Assange was holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Edward Snowden is now in Russia. What are we going to see next? What does the Russian support in this standoff against the UK mean for you?

RC: We do appreciate Russia’s support and the support of people from many other countries that stood up for us, including the English people. This issue could be only resolved by the UK, Sweden and Europe. The UK could give Assange a pass to leave the country. It should have done so initially. Any Latin American state would have done so. It’s wrong when they call us backward countries.

Sweden could send a prosecutor to question Assange in London, and this is absolutely legal by Swedish law. Nobody wanted to stand in the way of the Swedish justice system. They could have questioned Assange via a video link. In principle, this situation could be resolved tomorrow if the UK and Sweden wanted to. So it’s up to them, basically. We’ve done what we had to in a manner that we believe was appropriate. We didn’t consult anybody, but we acted in strict compliance with all the norms of the international law and human rights. Mr. Assange has the right to request political asylum and we have the right to grant it to anyone we think fit. Right now, it’s up to Europe, the UK and Sweden to resolve it.

RТ: Just recently, Ecuador qualified for the 2014 World Cup. We saw you cheering for the national team at the stadium. What’s your bet?

RC: Football is our national passion.

RT: And yours, too?

RC: Yes, it’s my passion, too. I love football and express my love in every way. I think we have a strong team, but there are factors which made it more difficult for us to get through. First, Ecuador could have won more games, but we weren’t lucky with the referees. Second, the sudden death of our top scorer, Christian Benitez, better known as Chucho, was a heavy blow to us. He was very young when he died of heart failure. Nevertheless, Ecuador managed to qualify and it was great news for the whole country. I believe our national team is very capable. I hope they get to the quarterfinals and have a lucky streak at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

RT: Good luck to them. Mr. President, thank you for this interview.

RC: You are welcome. I would like to thank you and your country for giving us such a warm welcome. And do come to Latin America and Ecuador. It’s a wonderful country.

[TsarSamuil]

Pic,
rt.com/files/news/21/08/30/00/venplan-1.jpg

Leak reveals plot to destabilize Venezuelan govt.

RT.com
November 06, 2013 16:19

Leaked documents have revealed evidence of a plot to destabilize Venezuela and undermine the rule of leftist President Nicolas Maduro. The papers appear to substantiate Caracas’ claims of outside attempts to cripple the country through internal sabotage.

Documents obtained by a contributor to RT’s Spanish channel, Eva Golinger, detail a structured plan to erode the stability of Venezuela with a view to “returning real democracy and independence that have been hijacked for more than 14 years.”

The plans are allegedly the product of a conference between American company FTI Consulting and two right-wing Colombian groups affiliated with former President Alvaro Uribe in the Colombian city of Cucuta in June of this year.

Former President Uribe was an outspoken critic of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, referring to him openly on Twitter as a “dictator” and an “assassin.”

The three groups propose an initiative they name “The Venezuelan Strategic Plan” and list the ways in which they can disrupt all facets of Venezuelan society in the run-up to December’s regional elections.

“The suggested aims in the plan are especially geared towards the municipal elections on December 8,” writes the document. In the elections the Venezuelan population will choose 335 mayors, 2,435 municipal councilors, 69 local indigenous representatives, 2 mayors and 20 district councils.

The document is broken down into bullet points, which deal with how to maximize the impact on “all sectors of the Venezuelan population.”

The strategies to be employed include: “creating crisis on the streets, facilitating the intervention of North America and NATO forces with the Colombian army,” power cuts, food shortages, support and financing of the political opposition.

The document writes that violence should also be encouraged and “whenever possible lead to deaths and injuries.” It also gives special mention to Venezuelan opposition figure Henrique Capriles who lost in the presidential elections at the beginning of the year, advising support of his political campaign.

Over the last couple of months, Venezuelan state media has reported on shortages of a number of basic products, including sugar, milk, oil, butter and flour. Moreover, there have been a number of reports of large quantities of these basic good being confiscated from warehouses belonging to businessmen linked to the opposition and smugglers crossing the border to Colombia.

In August, Venezuelan authorities intercepted between 50 and 60 tons of basic goods in the state of Tachira which borders with Colombia.

President Nicolas Maduro has blamed many of these cases on attempts by foreign powers to meddle in Venezuelan affairs with a view to destabilizing the country. In October, Maduro expelled three top American diplomats from Venezuela, alleging they were plotting with the opposition to orchestrate mass power cuts.

"We detected a group of US embassy officials dedicated to meeting the far right, and to financing and encouraging acts of sabotage against the electrical system and Venezuela's economy," Maduro said in a televised speech.

The US Embassy denied such a plot existed and any “involvement in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the Venezuela government.”

Maduro was named as successor by former President Hugo Chavez who died of cancer on March 5 this year. When Maduro assumed the presidency in April he swore to carry on the legacy of Chavez and adopted the same fiery anti-American rhetoric as his predecessor.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia to Write Off $29Bln of Cuba’s Soviet Debts – Report.

MOSCOW, December 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is to write off $29 billion of Cuba’s Soviet-era debts under an agreement to end a 20-year dispute between the two countries, according to a Reuters report.

Moscow agreed to forgive 90 percent of Cuba’s $32 billion debt to the former Soviet Union under deal that paves the way for fresh trade and investment. The agreement was finalized in Moscow in October but must still be approved by the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

Cuba will still have to pay $3.2 billion of the debt over 10 years, Reuters reported Monday, citing Russian and European diplomats. Negotiations were continuing over how the Caribbean island nation, which remains under an economic embargo by the United States, would settle the debt.

Diplomats noted that even an annual payment of $320 million would be difficult for Cuba, which earns around $18 billion per year from exports, including tourism and medical services.

Cuba, still formally a Communist state, defaulted on its debt in the late 1980s, but has sought to boost its international reputation recently by restructuring old obligations.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s prime minister, signed a general agreement during a visit to Cuba in February to settle the issue of the Soviet-era debt by 2014. The unilateral move irked members of the Paris Club of creditor nations, which prefers a collective approach to debtor states.

Cuba owes some $5 billion to $6 billion of non-Soviet debt to other Paris Club members. The informal grouping includes Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as a number of smaller European nations.

[TsarSamuil]

Vid,
rt.com/business/mexico-breaks-oil-monopoly-174/

Mexico approves historic bill ending 75-year oil monopoly.

RT.com
December 13, 2013 03:30

Mexico’s Congress has approved a bill to end a 75-year state oil monopoly by allowing foreign and domestic investors to enter the market.

The vote was passed 353-134, allowing private companies to explore and drill for oil and gas, which was not previously permitted. The bill still needs to be approved by 17 of Mexico’s 31 states, which is believed to be highly probable.

State-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, gained ownership of all natural resources when Mexico’s government took over operations from foreign oil companies in 1938. At the time, the move was viewed by many as a symbol of nationalism.

The bill carries key importance for the US, as Mexico is in the top five exporters of crude oil to America.

Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party and the conservative National Action Party were behind the proposal.

Many fiercely opposed the bill, with some leftist members of Congress trying to stop negotiations by blocking access to the chamber of the House of Deputies with chairs and tables, AP reported. A member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, Antonio Garcia Conejo, undressed during his speech to emphasize that the bill is a “plunder of the nation.”

“We must defend our oil,” Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a three-time presidential candidate and son of the president who nationalized the oil industry, said in a television advertisement. The state oil company, he added, belongs “to all Mexicans, and we must not allow it to go private.”

Those who oppose the bill worry that foreigners will regain control over Mexico, as they did before 1938.

"Today is a black day," Reuters quoted Ricardo Monreal, a government critic and leader of the leftist Citizens’ Movement in the lower house, as saying. "More poverty for everyone, which has been the rule for Mexican privatizations."

Many citizens also expressed concern. “Until now, we Mexicans used oil revenue to pay 40 percent of our public spending,” the Wall Street Journal quoted leftist priest Bishop Raul Vera as saying. “But now we'll have to negotiate that money with foreign oil firms. That's what awaits our children.”

Many economists view the new law as a positive change, and something that is required to help Mexico’s oil industry - whose production has dropped 25 percent since 2004 due to Pemax’s lack of experience in excavating deep-water gas reserves.

The new bill allows foreign companies to explore and drill in return for royalties and taxes payable to the Mexican government.

Foreign supporters of the bill believe that it will benefit all three countries under the North American Free Trade Agreement – the US, Canada, and Mexico. “We are going to be able to develop services and competencies in dealing with energy that are transferrable from one country to another,” Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, told AP.

“They all have some differences in commodities and have their own regulatory systems, but all of it will be in the context of a lot oil, a lot of gas, a lot of coal and a fundamental ability to attract manufacturing, to improve supply chain and to drive the creation of jobs and economic growth,” he added.

[TsarSamuil]

El Drone: Correa presents ‘surprise’ Ecuadorian UAV.

RT.com
January 12, 2014 16:12

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has unveiled the country’s first domestically made unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone is to help Quito fight drug traffic and will also be on sale in South America, costing “7 times less” than its Israeli equivalent.

“We have pleasant surprises… Whether you believe it or not, we are already producing unmanned aircraft,” Correa told the Ecuadorians, speaking on local television on Saturday.

The prototype drone, called the UAV-2 Gavilán (“Hawk”), has been designed by the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) to monitor borders and hard-to-reach areas, like the Amazon rainforest, as well as for assisting investigations.

It took the FAE five years of research to create the surveillance drone, but the result proved to be quite a bargain. According to Correa, Gavilán’s cost is about $500,000, while in 2007 Quito had to buy six Israeli UAVs of the same type for $20 million.

The Ecuadorian drone is made of carbon fiber and wood, and operates on a gasoline engine for up to seven hours, the official news agency ANDES reported. It is capable of transmitting video and photos in real time and can land or take off automatically.

The UAV has already been tested in real missions, detecting a ship with “tons of drugs” in the Pacific last year, which it had followed six hours before the vessel was detained, Correa said.

The president said he “pressed” the Ecuadorian Air Force with the task of making a marketable model of the drone, with the aim of exporting it “at least to Latin America.”

At least four more Gaviláns will be produced by Ecuador for domestic use this year, after which the FAE will switch to producing the drones for export.


Photo from presidencia.gob.ec

[TsarSamuil]

Anyone still wonders why there's non-Slavic topics here? Ukraine, Venezuela, they mirror each other. The empire must be stopped everywhere, all the tentacles must be cut off! So it looses its strength to move against us. We help ourselves and others, this way it's faster, this is crucial for the next world order, to set this world right, western neo-colonialism must die!


(If you haven't seen this pic before, actually it's the logo of U.S. spy satellites...no joke)

----------

Vid,
rt.com/news/venezuela-riots-kill-students-827/

Venezuela coup? Gunfire, clashes as 3 dead in violent Caracas protest (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

RT.com
February 13, 2014 08:49

At least three people have died in violent protests in the Venezuelan capital, officials have confirmed. President Nicolas Maduro has condemned the unrest as an attempt at a coup d’état orchestrated by extremist members of the political opposition.

Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of the Venezuelan capital on Wednesday in the worst unrest since Nicolas Maduro assumed the presidency last year. Demonstrators from several different political factions clashed in Caracas, leaving at least three people dead and over 20 injured.

Venezuela’s top prosecutor confirmed the death of 24-year-old student Bassil Dacosta Frías, who was shot in the head and died later in hospital. Officials said that a government supporter was also assassinated in what they decried as an act of “fascism.” A third person was killed in the Chacao neighborhood in the East of the Venezuelan capital.

As night fell in Chacao, police clashed with protesters, firing tear gas into a crowd of young protesters who burned tires and blocked a main road. RT Actualidad’s correspondent in Caracas, Karen Mendez, said that gunfire broke out in Chacao later during the night and her team had been caught in the crossfire.

The government and the opposition have already traded blows over the violence in the capital. Leader of the opposition movement ‘Popular Will’ Leopoldo Lopez - who participated in the 2002 coup d’état against former President Hugo Chavez - claimed the government had orchestrated the bloodshed to discredit the Venezuelan opposition.

“Maduro, you know full well that what happened today was your plan. The dead and the injured are your responsibility,” Lopez tweeted.

Nicolas Maduro responded to the violence in a public statement, denouncing the unrest as an attempt to carry out a coup d’état. He laid the blame at the feet of extremist fascist groups and said that those responsible for the violence would be prosecuted by the full weight of the law.

“We are facing a coup d’état against democracy and the government that I preside over," said Maduro. He claimed that the fascists group was using civil liberties and democracy as a tool to overthrow the government.

Maduro called for peace on the streets of the capital and said that the bloodshed had to end. His political rival during last year’s elections, Henrique Capriles also appealed for calm on the streets.

"Violence will never be the way! We are confident that a large majority refuses and condemns it," Capriles tweeted.

Protests have become relatively commonplace in Venezuela with the population disgruntled over shortages of basic goods such as sugar and toilet paper.

The latest bout of demonstrations focuses on the country’s economic woes and the high level of inflation Venezuela has experienced recently.



----------

Vid,
rt.com/news/venezuela-protests-clashes-maduro-235/

Venezuelan police disperse violent crowd after mass anti-govt protest (VIDEO)

RT.com
February 16, 2014 03:54

Venezuelan police have deployed water cannons and used tear gas against crowds of angry stone-throwing protesters in Caracas. Activists unhappy with the economic course of President Nicolas Maduro have been resorting to sporadic violence since Wednesday.

Police clashed with a crowd of protesters who attempted to block a Caracas highway. The violence erupted in the late evening after hundreds of thousands of supporters and opponents of Venezuela's leftist government had gone home.

About 3,000 opponents dressed in white and carrying red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags gathered in the capital earlier on Saturday demanding the release detained students and other opposition activists.

"We are here once again to demand the release of students who were detained and because we can't live with such violence," Maria Correia, 20, said in a wealthy neighborhood in the eastern section of Caracas as cited by AFP.

On Saturday twenty five of 99 people arrested earlier in the week in connection with the protests had been freed pending trial said Venezuela's state prosecutor adding that the others would be processed within hours.

Along with anti-government protests, several pro-government rallies were also held in Venezuela and were broadcast on national television. Addressing his supporters in Caracas Maduro called on the people to show support for his leadership.

“You want to see people in the streets? We'll give you people in the streets,” he said to cheers from thousands of supporters.

“I'm not going to give up one millimeter of the power the Venezuelan people have given me ... nothing will stop me from building this revolution which commandant Chavez left us!”

The demonstrations follow more than 10 days of anti-government rallies, mostly led by students that culminated on Wednesday, in which at least three people died, two students and a community activist in the worst unrest since Nicolas Maduro assumed the presidency last year.

Over 25 people sustained injuries as activists set up barricades in the city. Police clashed with the crowd using tear gas.

Nicolas Maduro responded to the violence in a public statement, denouncing the unrest as an attempt to carry out a coup d’état. He laid the blame at the feet of extremist fascist groups and said that those responsible for the violence would be prosecuted under the full weight of the law.

On Thursday a court ordered the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on charges of murder and terrorism during the street violence, as Lopez spent two weeks organizing sporadic rallies around the country.

The latest bout of demonstrations focuses on the country’s economic woes and the high level of inflation Venezuela has experienced recently.

----------

Venezuela’s Maduro expels 3 US consular officials, alleging conspiracy.

RT.com
February 17, 2014 10:59

After days of protests led by students and opposition forces, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the expulsion of three US consular officials whom he accused of conspiracy and meeting students involved in anti-government protests.

Maduro did not identify the US officials, but pledged that the Venezuelan foreign minister would give more details later.

"It's a group of US functionaries who are in the universities. We've been watching them having meetings in the private universities for two months. They work in visas," Maduro stated in a nationally televised broadcast.

It's believed that the expulsion has been provoked by the Obama administration's support for the Harvard-educated opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, whom Maduro accuses of leading a US-backed "fascist" plot to oust the socialist government.

Forty-two-year-old Lopez (who was the mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caracas from 2000 until 2008) has led the biggest demonstration yet against Maduro's 10-month-old government, when over 10,000 people poured onto the streets on Wednesday to peacefully protest their growing worries, such as the country's high murder rate and a record-breaking 56 percent inflation.

According to Maduro, a US State Department official said in a phone conversation with Venezuela's ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States that arresting Lopez would cause serious negative consequences with international ramifications, AP reported.

"These are unacceptable, insolent demands," Maduro said during a televised address Sunday night. "I don't take orders from anyone in the world," he added.

There has been no immediate reaction from Washington, which has denied the accusations that the US has been busy plotting with the opposition against Maduro. The US hasn't had an ambassador in Caracas since 2010.

Maduro's government accused Lopez of inciting violence when at the end of opposition protests in the capital a group of students battled with security forces and pro-government militias, leaving three people dead. Shortly after the incidents an arrest warrant was issued against Lopez.

On Sunday, after Venezuelan security forces raided the homes of the opposition leader and his parents, Lopez posted a message on Twitter, and a three-minute long video.

"Maduro, you're a coward," López wrote. "You're not going to force me or my family to bow down."

Meanwhile, the raids wrapped up another night of protests during which security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of about 500 students who vowed to remain on the streets until all arrested anti-government demonstrators are released, AP reported. More protests took place Sunday, according to authorities 18 people were injured.

López said on the video that he invited his supporters to join him on a march on Tuesday from Venezuela Square towards the Justice Ministry building, which has become a "symbol of repression, torture and lies." He said he didn't fear arrest and accused authorities of violating his constitutional right to protest Maduro's government. "I haven't committed any crime," Lopez said. "If there is a decision to legally throw me in jail I'll submit myself to this persecution," adding that after Tuesday's march to the ministry he planned to walk alone to the agency to deliver a petition demanding a full investigation of the government's role in the deaths.

In his TV address, Maduro also called for a march by oil workers on Tuesday, beginning at the same central plaza in Caracas where Lopez is planning to rally. He urged Lopez to negotiate his surrender for his own safety, claiming that some sectors of the extreme right-wing want to assassinate opposition leader to provoke a political crisis.

In an effort to hamper anti-government demonstrations, which have been held since Wednesday, Maduro ordered the suspension of subway and bus service in the area where the protests take place in Caracas.

US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing concern about escalating tensions in Venezuela.

"We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. These actions have a chilling effect on citizens' rights to express their grievances peacefully," the statement informed on Saturday.

It's not the first time the socialist leader has expelled American officials from office. Hours before announcing the death of Hugo Chavez in March, Maduro expelled two US diplomats, claiming the United States might have been behind the leader's cancer. Six months later, on September 30, Maduro said that the top US diplomat in the country, Charge d’Affaires in Venezuela Kelly Keiderling, along with two other American diplomats had 48 hours to leave the country for allegedly helping opponents sabotage the electrical grid.

Sunday's expulsion is the third by Maduro. Venezuela's President has repeatedly claimed that the United States is determined to topple him.

----------

Venezuela's President Maduro accuses Obama of fanning violence.

RT.com
February 20, 2014 21:26

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused President Obama of promoting the ongoing protests in the country, and of backing members of the opposition alleged to be behind violence.

In a communique, the Latin American leader demanded that the US explain its motives in “financing, promoting and defending members of the opposition that promote violence against our country.”

Maduro went on to denounce declarations made by President Obama regarding the situation in Venezuela, saying that they presented a “gross interference in internal affairs.”

----------

Vid,
rt.com/shows/sophieco/ukraine-venezuela-undemocratic-chaos-036/

US behind undemocratic chaos seen in Ukraine and Venezuela - Adres Izarra, Venezuelan cabinet minister.

RT.com
February 21, 2014 10:30

The death of Hugo Chavez has broken the calamity of Venezuela’s political life. The opposition, backed by the politicians in Washington, has stepped forward and cannot be ignored anymore, as even Maduro has won the presidential elections with just a small majority. The nation is split. What the future holds for Venezuelan people? What are the interests of those who oppose the Bolivarian revolution? To find out, Sophie Shevardnadze is joined by the minister of Maduro’s cabinet – Andres Izarra is on SophieCo today.

Follow @SophieCo_RT

Sophie Shevardnadze: Mr. Izarra, Mr. Maduro has said “what we’re seeing in Kiev is now being repeated in Caracas.” What does he mean, exactly? What is happening?

Andres Izarra: This is not widespread violence as we are seeing right now in Kiev. It’s very limited to certain focuses. Of course the US would like to create a situation like the one we’re seeing in Kiev, but it is not near what is happening there right now, it’s very hard to compare.

Venezuela just came from the recent election, local elections. We’ve had four electoral processes in the last two years. All of them have been with the wide participation of people, over 80 percent participation in these electoral processes. The Bolivarian revolution has won all four of them. We have very solid popular support, and this not the first time we are facing this kind of disruption in our democratic life. Remember that in 2002 we had a coup attempt, following a very similar script like we are seeing right now, with violent protesters in the streets, trying to topple our government.

SS: But like you’ve said, your country has just come out of the presidential election little over a year ago. President Maduro won this election with a very small margin. Doesn’t that really mean that your country is divided, and he has a real opposition?

AI: President Maduro won with 1.5 percent difference. It was a very special kind of election, because the people were very sad, very hurt by the loss of President Chavez and we had a diminished participation of our people, who were very, again, touched, very hard-feeling with what was happening, emotionally, to the country, with the loss of president Chavez. But again, no matter how big the margin, if it was small or large, we are in democracy and a democratic country respects the will of the majority.

After that, after the election of President Maduro, we had a second election, this [last] December, and the forces of the Chavista movement, of the Bolivarian movement came out of it with a very wide majority again. So the Venezuelans have had a chance to express their will over and over and over again. Over the last 15 years we had 19 elections, Sophie. There is no country in the world that has had so many elections as we have.

SS: I want to get back to what’s going on right now in Caracas. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez surrendered to the authorities. He said he wants to wake the people up. Why do you think he handed himself in?

AI: He handed himself over because there was a judge that… the justice system was claiming him for his crimes against democracy, his involvement in all the violence that we’re seeing right now. Remember that, although we had elections this last December these people – Leopoldo Lopez, Henrique Capriles – they were also involved in the violence that we saw in 2002. These are people from the wealthy classes of the Venezuelan society. These are the oligarchy of the Venezuelan society. These are the political expression of the oligarchy of Venezuela. This is the ruling class, the privileged class that is against democracy, that is against the popular democracy that we are moving forward in Venezuela.

So when the justice system claims Mr. Lopez for all the violence that he directed during these last days... it is a crime to do it, it is a crime to attend against people and against the democratic system in a way he has done it, especially in a political context so democratic, as open as ours. He is now in jail and he will have to face a trial with all the guarantees that our justice system gives to anyone that is being charged with the charges that he’s’ facing.

It is important to notice that Mr. Lopez gave himself up after the negotiation with the government that protected his life, he went to the justice system by the hand of the president of the National Assembly, who is one of the Bolivarian leaders, Diosdado Cabello, and that came because of the threat to the Mr. Lopez’s life, the threat of his life by the ultra-right factions of the Venezuelan political spectrum.

SS: I need to as you this – who are these far-right movements, who are these people, who are these fascists that you and president Maduro are talking about?

AI: These are people from extreme right related with the paramilitaries in Colombia, related to Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the head of the paramilitary, the ultra-right in Colombia, and of course behind all of this is the interest of the US to create a situation that brings up a regime change – which has been their policy all the time against the Bolivarian revolution, regime change. They are using factions from extreme right to try to provoke the regime change.

SS: But don’t you fear that if he’s put in prison he could become a sort of a martyr for the opposition?

AI: Well, the opposition is very divided, the opposition in Venezuela tends to throw away whoever doesn’t work for them anymore. They’ve done that in the past. They had a labor leader that they’ve used in the past to try and promote a regime change, they’ve used governors, they just threw away Henrique Capriles because he didn’t work for their interest anymore. Now, they have this new leader in Leopoldo Lopez to try to bring to bring about these extreme policies that try to, again, spread violence all over the country.

SS: You keep bringing up Henrique Capriles, who almost won the presidential election against Maduro and is also seen as one of the main leaders of the opposition. But he’s trying to distance himself from the opposition on the streets, right? Why is he doing that this time?

AI: Well, it is surprising to me too, I have to confess, because Capriles led the violent revolts after the April elections that led to the death of 11 people, 11 Chavistas by the way. So this opportunity…he has distanced himself from the violence especially because he’s a governor, he governs one of the states – it’s not of his interest to promote violence, because that will turn against him. He’s a governor, he has to guarantee a peace of the state he rules, so he can continue in power in his state, so in contrast to Leopoldo Lopez who doesn’t rule anything, he’s just an agitator, he’s just a political activist, Mr. Capriles has a lot to lose in the situation of violence.

SS:Most of the protesters on the street are university students. As I know, the universities in Venezuela are affordable – why then do you believe they are out there, on the forefront of the protests?

AI: Well, because, the universities, the young people in the universities is where the US has chosen to promote this kind of extremist groups. We just expelled from our country three US diplomats, because of their involvement in training, organization and financing of these extreme groups that use the university as their place to gather.

SS: Do you have evidence about those three US diplomats, that they were actually doing that?

AI: Oh yes, that’s why our government expelled them. We had counter-intelligence, plenty of counter-intelligence over their activities and a lot of support that shows how they were involved in this kind of organization of extremist groups.

SS: So these students who are on the streets, are they mostly from private universities or public ones? Or does it even matter? Is there a difference?

AI: Again, the people who are protesting are not only students right how. We find, by the people who have been detained, certainly young people, but there are many that are related to these extreme groups – Russia knows very well the experience of the color revolution, the velvet revolutions. This is the scheme that’s being reproduced here. More than students, many of them are professional political activists; some of them are trained for over two years in this kind of violence, of political actions to try to topple the government. Again, it’s the same scheme that you’ve seen in the past in Ukraine and other countries, promoted by the US, following CIA directions. This is a political operation towards the regime change that is going on in Venezuela right now, financed and directed by the U.S.

SS: Mr. Izarra, the world press emphasizes on the economic problems in your country, citing very high inflation, lack of goods in stores, also extremely high crime rate, as roots of the protests. What are you doing to deal with these issues?

AI: All government, all countries have problems, have issues. We are dealing with them with different strategies, even yesterday night the president signed the new exchange law – another measure to try to solve all these problems and bring the economy back to equilibrium. We faced an economic war, also promoted by these groups of the opposition, but nothing, no matter how big the problems might be - this is a democratic country - nothing justifies the violence that we see in certain part of certain Venezuelan cities.

This is a democratic country, we just came from election, and we will have elections next year again, for the National Assembly. Nothing justifies the loss of life and property that we’re seeing right now in certain areas of Venezuela.

SS: You’ve said many times that America is behind all this unrest in your country. But from what I understand, the US is the biggest oil customer – how does it benefit from chaos in Venezuela?

AI: Well, not only that. For the last 50 years we’ve had this relationship with the US, or lack of it. What is curious is that the level of our economic activity does not correspond into our political relationship. Not only is the US our main oil buyer, but also we import from the United States most of our necessities that we have to import, it’s our main importing market, so it’s a paradox that our level of economic relationship does not correspond into a political relationship.

Again, the US – first, they lack a policy towards Latin America, that is widely recognized by all the US ‘intelligentsia’, so to speak. And towards Venezuela the only policy the US has is the regime change, nothing besides that, although we tried in the past, we tried to establish a relationship with the US to bring it to a level of dialog, of mutual comprehension, to work together towards [solving] problems – that has not been possible.

The only policy that the US has towards Venezuela in its vacuum of policy towards Latin America is regime change. And that we do not accept. We demand from the US to respect our sovereignty, we are determined to be independent and sovereign. We will not accept any more US intervention in our country anymore. We have been a US colony for too long, we have decided to be free and independent.

SS: So, you are saying what the US should do in order for the relations to improve. What concessions Venezuela ready to do in order to improve relations with the US?

AI: Concessions? No. We are determined to be free and independent, the only thing that we ask for is respect.

SS: What should be done? I mean it always goes both ways.

AI: No, no - the only thing they have to do is respect us, respect our sovereignty, respect our political process, respect our democracy. That’s what we demand. We are not asking for mercy or asking for anything else but respect for our institutions, for our political system, and for the will of our people to be independent and free of foreign domination.

SS: But what do you think their main problem is with Venezuela? Why do you think the US is lacking respect towards your country as you say?

AI: Oil, Sophie, oil. This is the largest oil reserve in the world that is now in the Orinoco oil basin, now called Hugo Chavez oil basin. It’s the largest oil reserve in the world, so, the US is greedy, like a vampire to get their hands on that oil. That huge reserve, certified as the largest world oil reserve, is in the interest of the US to put its hands on it, and we’ve said “No”. The oil in Venezuela, the resources of Venezuela belong to the Venezuelan people, not to the US government, not to the imperialism.

SS: Sometimes I feel like when you are fighting an almighty enemy, like the US, it somehow in a weird way helps you inside the country to consolidate people around the regime that some might not even like. Do you feel like the US is helping you in a way by being your enemy to consolidate people around you and your government?

AI: It’s hard for me to answer that question. This is an objective situation that we’re facing. We have the US involved in all this regime change policy, and we have denounced that and we faced that and we have confronted them over the past years. It was a permanent struggle of President Chavez that we have continued to be free and independent. Our people are very conscious of that, our people have grown a lot during this Bolivarian revolution in terms of consciousness, and they know pretty well who is their enemy, who is the enemy of the people here.

SS: So you’re saying the constant interference from the US into your country’s affairs actually helped raise consciousness and awareness of Venezuelans - is that what you’re saying?

AI: Well, yes. All the political struggles that we’ve had to do in the past, to gain that independence, to gain sovereignty over our resources, to build a more democratic society of inclusion, to fight poverty, we had to struggle against many obstacles, one of them is the US, the oligarchy is the other one. The cultural media hegemony has been another one.

So all these obstacles, enemies that we’ve had to face, in order to create a democratic society of inclusion, of sovereignty, of independence, of liberty- in terms of the advance of our struggle, people have been growing in consciousness , as we have been moving forward with our revolution, with our process.

SS: You were close to President Hugo Chavez. For the last 10 years the country was calm and peaceful – but then the new president is facing challenges from the opposition. What is President Maduro doing differently from President Chavez?

AI: Nothing. President Maduro is our first Chavista president; he is the president that is continuing the legacy of Hugo Chavez. We are following his policies strategically; it is the same objectives that we’re following. Of course, we are adjusting tactics based on the situation, but it’s basically a continuation of the Chavez government – that is what people voted for.

SS: What’s the problem then?

AI: The problem is that we’re having an opposition that does not recognize the sovereignty of the people, that does not recognize democracy. They’ve tried once and again to topple our government trough violent ways. We had a coup d’état in 2002, it was followed by a business lockout by the end of 2002-2003, and they always looked for a shortcut, since democracy doesn’t favor them, since the vote ballot doesn’t favor them.

They’ve tried to come to power trough violent means, and what’s they are pursuing right now again. Unfortunately we do not have a democratic opposition, we have a violent and undemocratic oligarchy-led opposition in our country.

----------

Venezuela revokes CNN journalists’ press credentials for ‘war propaganda’

RT.com
February 21, 2014 22:51

Venezuela has revoked or denied press credentials for seven CNN journalists working in the country for what President Nicolas Maduro called “war propaganda” amid coverage of anti-government protests.

Before the conditions on credentials were announced, Maduro said he would eject CNN from the country if it did not “rectify” its coverage amid a spike in the unrest that has gripped Venezuela. According to officials, at least eight people have been killed since demonstrations mounted by the opposition turned violent last week.

"They want to show the world that there is a civil war in Venezuela," Maduro said of CNN in a televised speech on Thursday.

He added that CNN was not showing "the people working, studying, building the homeland."

"I've asked the [information] minister to tell CNN we have started the administrative process to remove them from Venezuela if they don't rectify [their behavior]," Maduro said during the speech aimed at supporters, according to Reuters. "Enough! I won't accept war propaganda against Venezuela."

The pro-government audience applauded, chanting “Fuera! Fuera!” (“Out! Out!”)

The seven journalists – working for CNN International and CNN en Español – were notified later on Thursday about their credentials being revoked or denied. Despite the move, both entities said they will continue to broadcast from Venezuela.

Maduro did not mince words when describing how he viewed CNN’s coverage of demonstrations that have challenged his authority.

"A group of fascists with their aggressions want to take us away from peace," Maduro said. "They are not going to do that. And we are going to show them."

CNN has requested meetings with Venezuelan officials. Both CNN and CNN en Español were invited to a Maduro news conference scheduled for Friday afternoon.

"CNN has reported both sides of the tense situation in Venezuela, even with very limited access to government officials," CNN en Español said in a statement, adding that at the time of the credentials announcement, they were seeking an interview with the president.

"We hope the government will reconsider its decision. Meanwhile, we will continue reporting on Venezuela in the fair, accurate and balanced manner we are known for."

Local television networks have offered very little coverage of the protests, Reuters reported, leaving opposition leaders to use streaming websites on unreliable broadband to speak live to fellow Venezuelans.

Maduro ordered that Colombia-based network NTN24 be removed from Venezuelan cable after it showed live coverage of the demonstrations last week. The move was criticized by the likes of Reporters Without Borders.

Maduro, who was elected last year as the heir apparent following the death of long-time President Hugo Chavez, has accused the opposition – which he calls “fascists” – of fomenting a coup and inciting violence.

The majority of the opposition consists of middle class students who are frustrated with the country’s sputtering economy and soaring crime rate, and are seeking a regime change. They also allege that the recent presidential election was rigged for Maduro.

Venezuela’s ruling party, meanwhile, has long maintained that the US is playing a role in propping up the country’s opposition, and seeking to subvert the Maduro administration. That vitriol was sustained during Hugo Chavez’s tenure as the country’s leader; he often referred to an unsuccessful 2002 coup which heavily implicated US coordination.

Earlier this week, Venezuela expelled three US diplomats from the country, alleging they were working with opposition members against the government. The US State Department has denied the accusations.

The latest spout of violence came on the heels of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez’s surrender to government authorities during a large rally in Caracas. Lopez, who has recently become a rising star among Maduro opponents, is alleged to have played a role in the 2002 coup attempt.

Lopez, the Harvard educated 42-year-old leader of the Popular Will party and a former mayor, is being held responsible for the casualties that have resulted as demonstrators continue to clash with government forces. Though according to his lawyers, prosecutors have dropped the most serious charges of murder against him.


Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters during a rally in Caracas February 18, 2014.(Reuters / Miraflores Palace)

[TsarSamuil]

Larry King Live : 2009: Larry King interviews Hugo Chavez.

CNN



In 2009, Larry King sat down for an interview with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

[TsarSamuil]

Venezuela marks Chavez death anniversary amid anti-govt protests.

RT.com
March 05, 2014 16:59

The Venezuelan people are busy commemorating the anniversary of the death of the iconic socialist leader, Hugo Chavez, while his successor, Maduro, grapples with country-wide protests against his government.

Tens of thousands of people loyal to the late leader are due to flood the country’s streets to attend lavish events hosted by the country’s new leader and successor to Chavez and his ideas – Nicolas Maduro. A military parade honoring ‘El Comandante’ is among the festivities. Chavez’s chosen successor wants to show that despite the feeling created by the current anti-government protests gripping the country, plenty of people still exist who value Chavez’s socialist legacy of economic reform and equality for all.

Maduro, Chavez’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, wants to make sure that the late president’s socialist legacy lives on.

Chavez’s cousin, Guillermo Frias, 60, spoke to Reuters about the late leader, saying how “enormously sad” the occasion was and that “there’s not a single day I don’t remember Hugo.”

“He changed Venezuela forever, and we cannot go back. Maduro is a poor man, like us,” he continued to speak about the new leader. “He’s handling things fine. Perhaps he just needs a stronger hand.”

The tens of thousands of Chavistas who came out to honor his memory are the poor, who Chavez helped bring out of the gutter with a series of comprehensive reforms in healthcare and education, as well as programs aimed at improving the subsistence of those at the lowest levels of income.

The late president’s greatest achievement, according to some, was to once again interest Venezuela in its own political life and future and to instill it with a belief that people and government can work together. Evidence of this can be gleaned from a steep rise in voting numbers and people taking a more active role in Venezuela’s direction.

And with good reason: Chavez’s policies caused a 50 percent reduction in poverty, with extreme cases showing a 70 percent decline. He implemented social policies that were targeted at achieving equality on an unprecedented scale in sectors like education and healthcare. Likewise, the housing and food programs were revolutionary in providing the lower classes with the means to survive. This is why Chavez was so revered and why personas like his stood historically in stark contrast to Western economic approaches, while also incurring US wrath.

Maduro has also inherited the criticism formerly directed at Chavez. The similar humble roots, the anti-US rhetoric, coupled with massive grassroots campaigns spending fortunes on slums and those living below the poverty line, also come as a package with a wave of nationalization, tough economic policies, a powerful government hand in price and currency controls – something which angers the middle classes who make up the larger part of the ongoing country-wide political rallies. And Maduro, like Chavez, has a low tolerance for political upheaval and attempts to derail his government.

There were calls for the country to be peaceful during the events marking the anniversary of Chavez’s death, but the students and the radical opposition have refused, continuing the rallies that have claimed over 50 lives in the two weeks.

The protests grew violent when students who came out en masse on Tuesday clashed with the police in the capital Caracas, prompting authorities to use tear gas to break up the crowds.

They demanded the release of political prisoners detained during the initial two weeks of protests.

Yesterday they continued to maintain barricades, while rallies were ongoing in some cities. Maduro has gone as far as calling the violence an attempted coup.

This latest wave of violence follows the arrest of opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, who walked into a police station to hand himself into custody about two weeks ago. The Harvard-educated opposition figure is facing charges of inciting violent protests, which carries a potential jail sentence of ten years.

Following the arrest, Maduro announced the expulsion of three US diplomats from Venezuela whom he accused of a “fascist” conspiracy to oust the socialist government.

Washington’s reaction was to give three Venezuelan diplomats 48 hours to leave the United States, while denying it had anything to do with the civil unrest.

Meanwhile, firebrand legislator Maria Corina Machado called for a march in San Cristobal in the west of the country.

RT Spanish host, Eva Golinger, however, believes that the protests aren’t achieving much politically, which makes the violence worthless.

“The anti-government protests in Venezuela have not been massive; there have been some that have been significantly large, but not larger than other opposition protests have been during the past few years. People who have been loyal to Chavismo or are part of Chavismo or supported the government now of Nicholas Maduro – I don’t think that has affected their support or loyalty. In fact I think we may have seen the contrary occur because some of the protests that have not been numerous but have been smaller-scale and more widespread throughout the country have become very violent. This has caused many people… to oppose those protests taking place in the country… as they’re not achieving any significant goals… It’s a moment when the extremists on both sides need to come together to find common ground.”


A man dressed as late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez waves during the Carnival festival in Caracas March 4, 2014.(Reuters / Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

-----------

Venezuela: Military parade celebrates first anniversary of Chavez's death.

RuptlyTV
Mar 6, 2014

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEPd4TIFANQ

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro led a military parade in Caracas on Wednesday, to mark the first anniversary of the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Military tanks and soldiers paraded before a ceremony before the tomb of the former president in the Venezuelan capital.

After the ceremony, Maduro announced that he would cut political and diplomatic ties and freeze economic relations with Panama. Meanwhile, clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces continued to flare in Caracas.

[TsarSamuil]

Venezuela breaks diplomatic relations with Panama, citing conspiracy.

RT.com
March 05, 2014 22:06

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that it was breaking diplomatic and commercial ties with Panama on Wednesday, citing the Central American country's complicity in a "conspiracy."

In strongly worded comments during a commemoration event on the anniversary of the death of the country’s late president, Hugo Chavez, Maduro derided Panama’s leadership.

"We're not going to let anyone get away with interfering with our fatherland, you despicable lackey, president of Panama,” said Maduro.

The Venezuelan leader affirmed that actions to break relations with Panama were in keeping with the day’s homage to Chavez.

“This is the best way to honor commander Chavez, by defending our sovereignty.”

Maduro directly addressed Panama’s petition to the Organization of American States (OAS) to investigate the ongoing situation in Venezuela.

“Let the OAS stay where it is,” he added. “We are a pacifist country, but we are also brave in defending our rights.”

The remarks took place during a ceremony with various foreign dignitaries in attendance, including the presidents of Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.

Supporters of the Bolivarian revolution are busy marking the first anniversary of their iconic socialist leader, Hugo Chavez. This comes amid continuing nation-wide protests mounted by the opposition against Maduro's administration.

Tens of thousands of people were expected to flood the country’s streets to attend lavish events hosted by the country’s new leader and successor to Chavez and his ideas – Nicolas Maduro. A military parade honoring ‘El Comandante’ is among the festivities.

Maduro, Chavez’s chosen successor, wants to show that despite the feeling created by the current anti-government protests now gripping the country, plenty of people still exist who value Chavez’s socialist legacy of economic reform and equality for all.

[TsarSamuil]

Venezuelan president: All killings are due to street violence

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro counted 20,547 National Guard officers and National Police agents deployed over the past weeks

EL UNIVERSAL
Friday March 14, 2014 04:20 PM

According to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, all the deaths during the escalation of protests from February 12 "are attributable to street violence."

In a press conference held on Friday with Venezuelan and foreign media, with the attendance of relatives of the casualties during recent demonstrations, Maduro said that slain people had been the victims of barricades.

He counted more than 500 violent events in four weeks and he stressed that to date, violence prevailed in two municipalities only. "In these events, we have deployed 20,547 National Guard officers and National Police agents, who have endured all these four weeks the attacks of bullets."

Moreover, Maduro expressed gratitude to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his willingness to cooperate with peace talks in Venezuela.

He added that President Santos' help would be welcome as part of the support of a commission of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in an upcoming visit to Caracas

[TsarSamuil]

Venezuela accuses Kerry of murder and inciting violence.

RT.com
March 15, 2014 12:54

Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has called US Secretary of State John Kerry a murderer and accused him of inciting violence in Venezuela. Jaua’s words came in retaliation to Kerry’s accusation that the Venezuelan government is terrorizing its own people.

In a heated rebuke to Kerry, Jaua denounced him as a murderer of the Venezuelan people.

"Kerry, we denounce you before the world. You are inciting violence in Venezuela, and we will denounce it in every part of the world. We denounce you as a murderer of the Venezuelan people," Jaua said in Caracas.

He added that Venezuela would not back down until the US ordered its “lackeys” in Venezuela to cease their violent activities.

"Every time we're about to isolate and reduce the violence, Mr. Kerry comes out with a declaration and immediately the street protests are activated," Jaua said in a speech carried on state TV. He added that the protests had not succeeded, however, in achieving their aim of triggering a coup d’etat in Venezuela.

Mass protests have gripped country over the last month with many demonstrations descending into violence and clashes with riot police. At least 28 people have died so far in unrest. President Nicolas Maduro has said that for the most part the demonstrations in the Venezuelan capital have been peaceful and that the violence is being caused by groups of right-wing extremists in the opposition.

Protests in Venezuela began on February 4 when students took to the streets, calling for the release of students arrested already. Initial demonstrations were followed by mass protests, focusing on rising inflation and a lack of basic goods in Venezuela.

Earlier this week, Kerry accused the Venezuelan government of waging “a terror campaign” against its own people.

“We are trying to find a way to get the Maduro government to engage with their citizens, to treat them respectfully, to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to, hopefully, respect human rights in an appropriate way,” Kerry told a committee in the US Congress on Thursday.

Relations between Washington and Caracas have been fraught with heated rhetoric over the last year. Maduro has repeatedly accused the White House of sponsoring members of the opposition with a view to destabilizing the Venezuelan government, while Washington claims that Caracas is using the US as a scapegoat to distract the Venezuelan population.

The US government has also called for an investigation into reports of police brutality during the violent protests.

Maduro was elected in Venezuela last year to succeed President Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer.

-----------

Venezuela accuses US of sparking civil unrest.

AFP news agency
Mar 15, 2014



President Nicolas Maduro accuses the US government officials of lobbying against Venezuela.